Ballkoad-switch



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. HERBERT SHEDD AND WILLIAM EDSON, OE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILROAD-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 26,933, dated January 24, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J. HERBERT SHEDD and VILLIAM EDsoN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Method for Conducting Cars from One Line of Track to Another; and we do hereby de; clare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of our invention consists in curving or deflecting the rails ofthe track, off from which we wish to send the car, from their direct course in such a manner as to allow the ends of the rails (which are fitted for the purpose) of the track upon which we wish to send the car, to be placed in the line produced of the undeflccted part of the first named track. By this arrangement a car running on the first track, will, by its tendency to move in a right line, be impelled on to the ends of the rails of the second track, the continuous rails of which will conduct it to any desired point. In deflecting the rails of the first track for this purpose, the continuity of said track is not broken; it simply curves around the ends of the rails of the second track, so that a car coming on the first track, in the direction opposite to that of the car which we wish to send on to the second track will be conducted safely around and continue on the first track.

Our invention is more especially adapted to, and most usefully employed upon horse rail-roads, and their turnouts.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention,fwe will describe our usual method of construction.

For the sake of convenience in descrip tion, let the lines in blue (Plan A,) represent the rails of what we will call the rst track, and the lines in red, the same of the second track.

At some convenient point (a) near where we wish our second track to begin, we curve the rails o, Z), b, o', b, b', of the first track upon some assumed radius. Ve have found 300 feet a useful one. Now at a point in t-he line of the first track produced where the deflection of the curve will be about one and a half inches, we place the pointed end of the rail, c, c, c, and begin to curve both that and the rail c, c, c', of the second track. The end of the rail b', b', b', is cut and pointed, and placed as shown on the plan, in such a manner as to allow of the free passage of the flanges of the car wheels. The most convenient method of construction to have iron castings made with cast rails and steel points, and place them so that the curves and points shall form continuous lines for the two tracks.

IVe exhibit the Plan B, the right hand portion of which corresponds with the Plan A, for the sake of indicating more clearly, one of the most useful applications of our invention. Inspection of the plan will show that a car coming in the direction indicated by the arrow (el) will continue on the main track, while one coming in the direction indicated by the arrow (c) will be conducted off, on to the turnout.

Vhat we claim as our invention is The arrangement or device of deflecting one track from its true line, and putting permanently in the true line of that track, the beginning of another line of track, substan tially as herein described and shown by the drawing A, for the purpose of taking advantage of the tangential or right line motion of a car or engine for conducting the car or engine from one track on to the other.l

J. HERBERT SHEDD. WILLIAM EDSON. Vitnessesz ALBERT OUSHMAN, HENRY B. RICHARDSON. 

